


May You Always Be...

by AnnaofAza



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Unrequited Love, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-02 00:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6542788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnaofAza/pseuds/AnnaofAza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry now raises his glass of golden champagne. "A toast to the groom—and the other one, as well."</p>
            </blockquote>





	May You Always Be...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you, as always, to yourefullofsuprises for beta-ing!

"All right, everyone, settle down! Eggsy's best bruv is about to speak!"

Hoots and hollers meet the announcement, and slowly, Harry stands up from his seat and takes the folded paper out of his breast pocket.

Eggsy, at the head of the table, beams at him, radiant and laughing and careless. He hadn't stopped grinning for the past few hours. A red rose is tucked in his buttonhole, and his tuxedo, tailored by Kingsman's expertise, fits him exquisitely. The lapels are black, while the jacket itself is a deep blue that hinted at both seriousness and nontraditional. It was commissioned, like Eggsy’s first Kingsman suit, by Harry, and presented to him only a few weeks ago as a wedding gift.

Harry now raises his glass of golden champagne. "A toast to the groom—and the other one, as well."

Laughter follows the brief joke, as he had planned, and Harry watches Eggsy's shoulders shake, while the man beside him nudges him playfully in the side. His dark hair shines underneath the lights, curly and without so much as a streak of grey, and his grin rivals Eggsy's. Eggsy bends to whisper something, possibly as equally playful, back, and Harry continues: "As your mentor, and as your friend, I would like to offer my congratulations to your union and the moments you will share together throughout your lives."

Harry pauses, remembering not the first nor second time he’d seen Eggsy, but the third: the young man gazing up at the suits on display in the low-lit streets, then pushing open the door to the shop, intrigued and confused. The bruise on his cheek was already purpling, and his hands were shoved almost defensively into his jacket pockets. Eyes serious but eager, with dark bags underneath, stared at him from a broad-shouldered frame, though Harry had been the one to order a quick takeaway meal before driving Eggsy to the Black Prince, since it was likely that the young man hadn’t eaten between his joyride and night at the police station.

The young man had insisted Harry getting something for himself, and Harry quietly slipped Eggsy his own chips the whole ride over, distracting him with a fabricated tale of deciding to retire from the army and becoming a tailor. Eggsy had asked him all sorts of questions, with his mouth full and eager hands scrabbling for the greasy fish and chips, and Harry had wondered when he’d truly had a proper meal.

He’d led Eggsy to the dressing room lift and watched Eggsy’s eyes light up as he began to realize the chance Harry was giving him. Harry had enjoyed seeing that, hoping Lee’s son would go farther than his father had, then his innocent pride had ground to a halt with Eggsy's soft, pleased, “Oh, like in My Fair Lady.”

Harry had been too old, too stupid to recognize the trip of his heartbeat as he replied, with too much fondness in his voice, “Well, you’re full of surprises.”

Standing at the corner of the table, adjacent to Eggsy and his new husband, Harry realizes that his lips are moving, saying the rehearsed speech, words that had been carefully crafted: about being both a loyal Kingsman and a loyal spouse, about saving the world together and coming home together, about the blood-rushing success of a mission well done and about the quiet happiness of waking up next to the one you love...

_"Are you happy, Harry?” Eggsy inquired, languishing on the couch with his feet up against the armrests. JB was curled on his lap, tongue poking out of his mouth, and Eggsy gave the pug a scratch behind the ears, watching Harry mix another two martinis in the kitchen._

_“You think I’m a depressed old man?” Harry half-teased, half-asked seriously, carefully carrying both the glasses over. His jacket had been abandoned in his office upstairs, and he couldn’t remember where he’d put his tie or oxfords. Eggsy himself had tossed his own jacket over the kitchen chair and his hat on the coffee table, trainers deposited by the front door. “Spies are inclined to be a bit more serious than James Bond. We can’t all wink and saunter and sleep our way through life.”_

_Eggsy shook his head, closing his fingers around one of the glass stems. “No! I mean, I think you really like it, Kingsman. But I don’t see any pictures or nothing around the house. Do you have family? Or…”_

_Harry chose to evade what Eggsy was implying, taking a sip of his drink. “My mother is alive, though my father is not. She thinks I’m a tailor. I have a brother, but we rarely speak.” Not to mention that he was in MI5, but Harry decided to leave that part out._

_“Oh.” Eggsy said. “But...have you ever….tried? Starting a family, I mean.”_

_“No. I…” Harry chose his next words carefully, not wanting to shatter the young man’s hopes or sound too maudlin. “Family is difficult, but not impossible, to have in Kingsman. Lancelot - the former one - was married and had a child.”_

_“To a civilian?”_

_“To another agent,” Harry replied. “You may have seen him tonight.”_

_Eggsy’s eyes widened. “Roxy’s sponsor? Percival?”_

_“That’s correct.”_

_“And is that...is that allowed? Fraternization rules and all?”_

_“There’s an unofficial rule, but no one ever pays much mind to it. Chester didn’t like James and Percival’s relationship, but he doesn’t like anything much.” Harry shrugged. He figured he should stop talking, but he must have drank more alcohol than he thought. “It was the worst-kept secret in Kingsman, though Arthur couldn’t find evidence that their relationship affected their prowess as agents.”_

_Eggsy nodded seriously. “Wanker.”_

_“Arthur doesn’t like the bending of rules. Did you know - “ And Harry was off, talking about many of Arthur’s lovely disapprovals from Riesling paired with lamb to Merlin’s constant attempts to bring more technology to the organization._

_For a long while, Eggsy listened, eyes slightly suspicious._

_“Wait, you didn’t answer my question,” Eggsy suddenly interrupted, visibly pleased to have caught onto Harry’s distraction. “Are you happy?”_

_“Are you?”_

_It was a poor evasion technique, but Eggsy paused. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I like Kingsman so far. And I like...uh, being here. But I don’t know. I’ve never really been happy.” He stared hard at Harry. “You?”_

_“I’ve been content.”_

_"Content?" Eggsy murmured, rolling it on his tongue. “That’s it?” Instead of looking triumphant about prying an answer, an albeit weak one, out of Harry, he only looked...sorrowful. “Guess we have something in common.”_

Somehow, that exchange had unlocked every word between them. They’d talked nearly all night, martinis forgotten, about movies and school and Kingsman and family and books and friends. Harry debated relentlessly with an equally-so Eggsy about everything from the merits and disadvantages of different ways of preparing various drinks to battle strategies. Sometimes, not all of their arguments made sense, but both possessed a stubborn insistence to never give up on their end.

Which, Harry supposed, should have been a sign that their first argument would be a shit show.

They’d made up after Harry came back from the dead, each so relieved to see the other again that they mutually decided to start from scratch.

To new beginnings, Harry had thought, and in a way, he'd been proven right.

“...And yes,” Harry continues, “there was that instant connection between Eggsy and Liam. Although I wasn’t there to see Eggsy recruit the young man sitting beside him, I could plainly see that the two were as thick as thieves when I came back from Kentucky...”

_Harry always found it a cruel twist of fate when Eggsy fell for his own recruit. It might not have happened in a snap, but the signs were there: their shared backgrounds, their requests to be paired for missions, their constant laughter. Liam was handsome and quick-witted and took no shit from the snobbish recruits, but also was unfailingly kind and friendly and eager to learn. It had been easy, too easy, to excuse Liam’s looks for hero worship and to excuse Eggsy’s answering glances as pride, until Liam had quietly admitted the truth to Harry on the way home from a mission._

_“Should I tell?” Liam had asked, fidgeting with his seatbelt and not looking at Harry’s face. Harry was recently reinstated as Arthur, and this mission had been one of many of the field evaluations. As the newest recruit, Liam looked nervous and instantly regretful that he’d confessed it to his boss._

_"Do you think he feels the same way?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Then do it." Harry replied, feeling as he’d signed his own death warrant. “Don’t let this chance of happiness pass you by.”_

“There are many reasons why this couple should be happy together…”

_“But what if he doesn’t…?”_

_“Well, are there reasons you shouldn’t?”_

_Liam winced. “He’s an agent! A full-fledged one. His first mission was V-Day and…” He hesitated. “I’m new here, and even though Eggsy says Kingsman is better than he joined, there’s still these...expectations on me. My class, my upbringing, my age, my…” he gestured to his dark skin. “You know. Lancelot's the first female field agent, and I'm, well..."_

_"That shouldn't matter," Harry said. "Love can cross any boundary."_

_Liam was still frowning, but his eyes brightened, just a little bit hopeful. "You think?"_

“Their love transcends barriers…”

_Harry nodded. Mentally, he counted the reasons for himself as Liam ranted and wrung his hands: Eggsy, according to the organization, was a chav, but Harry didn’t want him any less; it didn’t matter, though. Eggsy was still working on--and Harry grit his teeth at this wording--earning his keep and proving to everyone he was a true Kingsman. He didn’t need another thing to slander his reputation. There were whispers of Eggsy’s less-than-savory past, including Smith Street, and Harry never wanted a relationship with Eggsy to be tainted with gossip that Eggsy had slept his way up the ranks and into the title of Galahad._

“Forged on friendship and common ground…”

_There would be no accusations of favoritism in the ranks or imbalances of power. Liam and Eggsy were both fellow agents. Harry would always be Eggsy’s boss, and even though he’d never threaten Eggsy’s position in Kingsman, there was still the lingering sense that Eggsy shouldn’t have to fear for a good thing in his life being taken from him, out of reach, beyond his control._

“Full of trust…”

_Harry loved Eggsy, and Eggsy, although he didn’t return his feelings, trusted Harry._

_This was Eggsy’s first love. If Harry revealed his foolish feelings at this time, he’d fuck up everything for good._

“And I can’t see any couple more deserving than they…”

_"How did it go?"_

_"It went brilliantly! After my mission in Bolivia, we're going out for drinks!"_

_"I'm glad to hear that."_

"So raise your glasses…”

_"Oh, Harry, guess what? Guess what?"_

_"What?"_

_"Liam asked me to marry him! Today!"_

"To the happy couple..."

_“And what did you say, Eggsy?” Harry asked, forcing a smile onto his face._

_Eggsy grinned brightly. “I said yes, of course!”_

"To Liam and Eggsy, for a lifetime of happiness and no regrets..."

_“If there is anyone here who thinks these two should not be wed, speak now, or forever hold your peace,” the minister proclaimed._

_Everyone looked around, some dramatically coughing in anticipation._

_Harry forced himself to keep silent. Eggsy was happy. Liam loved him._

_There was no happy ending for Harry, but as long as Eggsy got his…_

_“No objections?” The minister asked, then grinned. “Then I pronounce these two married! You may now kiss.”_

"To the grooms!" Harry finishes, too loudly, and swallows the whole drink in one gulp. Happy laughter and cheers follow the clinking the glasses, before Jamal’s shouting into the mic about the dance floor calling. Several, including Eggsy and Liam, go, and Harry, with the pretense of doing just that, quietly slips out of the room.

Merlin’s waiting for him, right by the door in the empty hallway and reaching out to touch his arm. "Harry, are you—?"

"Enough, Merlin." Harry shrugs it off. “I’m just going to get some air.”

"You're not going to duck out early? I can make excuses—"

Harry shakes his head firmly. "No. This is Eggsy's day. I promised him I'd be here."

"You were here all day, and before that. You helped him tie his bow tie and offered him a bowl to chuck in when he started pacing. You stood there on the altar with Roxy, Jamal, and Ryan when Eggsy walked the aisle. You even made that bloody best man speech for him." Merlin's voice gentles. "I've never seen you like this."

Harry shrugs. "I'll never be happy, but I will be, for Eggsy."

His best friend scoffs. “You’re such a martyr, Hart.”

“And what was I supposed to do?” Harry snaps, taking care to keep his voice low. “Confess everything, in front of everyone? Destroy Eggsy’s wedding? Did you also want the evil twin to show up or have the band play dramatic, warbling soap opera music?”

“No,” Merlin replies, clearly irritated. “You could have told him earlier. You never thought that he loved you back, didn’t you?”

“There was never a chance.”

“Which you didn’t allow him the decision of making.” Merlin crosses his arms. “The boy was--”

Harry crushes the hopeful feeling rising in his chest. “It doesn’t matter what Eggsy felt then. Right now, he’s a married man, and I’m not going to dwell on what things might have been because that is not what he deserves.” He gives Merlin a stiff nod. “I think I’m done with my break.”

“Harry--” Merlin calls after him, regretful and frantic, but Harry ignores him, entering the room with swirling dancers and white tablecloths and the skylight dark with silver stars.

“Harry!” A familiar voice exclaims, and Harry startles at the sight of Eggsy bounding up to him.”Harry, that speech...that was really good.”

“My pleasure,” Harry says. “But shouldn’t you be with Liam?”

Eggsy nods to the other man, who’s laughing with Roxy on the dance floor. “I just wanted to see you and tell you...thank you. Not just for the speech, but…” he then smiles and clasps Harry’s hands. "I don't think I could have been this happy without you. For bringing me here, for...for everything."

Harry feels his chest twist. "Oh, Eggsy." An impulse overtakes him, and he squeezes the hands in his, just to feel the warmth and gun callouses. "I'm glad to see you happy."

**Author's Note:**

> I pictured Liam as John Boyega, because why not? He and Taron should star in a film together sometime!
> 
> And if you've listened to Hamilton's "Satisfied," you knew where this is going. ;)


End file.
